Adapted from August Wilson’s 1982 stage play, Ma Rainey tells the fictionalized story of recording artist Ma Rainey and her band as they record an album in Chicago. Set in the 1920s, the subjects of race, prejudice, and exploitation sit at the story’s forefront. The movie speaks to the Black condition in America both then and now.

All of these are issues we still face and are conversations we are still having.

At its best, gospel music is a soundtrack of hope despite life’s trials and tribulations.

Fathers are often demonized when they’re absent and mythologized when they’re present.

“To be black and conscious in America is to be in a constant state of rage.”

Assumptions are drawn and conclusions are made from negative depictions about African Americans that are largely one-sided.

Cultural and racial appreciation may come off well. But without God and a biblical approach, it can serve the wicked system of supremacy, envy, and power. Though Jordan Peele dressed these themes up with horror and humor, the racial issues and their implications are stark.

Occasionally a movie so morally objectionable comes out that Christians call for a boycott. But there is perhaps an even better approach.

Selma is a historical film that humanizes the Civil Rights Movement and draws the viewer in. Alicia Rollins makes a strong case to see the film.